Research & Technology Transporter (December 1997)

Are Transportation Agencies Using the
Information Super Highway?

In a 1994 workshop, the Transportation Research Board's Committee on the Conduct of Research (A5001) concluded that the most significant problems facing transportation agencies in the area of technology transfer are the low value placed upon information and the lack of access to information. To examine this issue in greater depth, the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Technology Applications has contracted an interagency agreement with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to undertake a study on the value of information for transportation agencies. The following summarizes the literature review for the project.

• Three approaches to proving the value of information were identified: measuring time saved; determining actual monetary savings/gains; and providing qualitative, anecdotal evidence of value.

• A survey of vice-president level corporate decisionmakers from over 150 corporations found that none of them could identify the library service that added the most value to their corporation.

• In a survey of corporate decision-makers from five Toronto financial institutions, 84 percent of the 299 respondents reported better informed decision-making when asked to use information provided by their library to assist in an important decision.

The study report, addressing the value of information, library services, and information professionals, will be available next spring. The report will include case studies of agencies that have attempted to measure the value of information in transportation and related areas, and anecdotal information from private and public sector organizations.
-- Nelda Bravo, (202) 366-9633.